2026 U.S. Open Pool Picks: Tiered Pool Strategy With Data
June 9, 2026 by
Here's our picks and data-driven strategy to help you win your 2026 U.S. Open Golf Pool. Whether you're playing in a standard 6-tier pool by odds, or any other type of tiered pool setup, make sure you are using data to inform your picks this year.
Picks By Tier (click for context)
General Golf Pool Picking Strategy
- You must pick exactly 6 golfers: one from each tier (Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
- Prioritize recent form over the last 12 tournaments.
- Use U.S. Open history as a tiebreaker, especially in volatile tiers.
- Target hot hand players (3+ straight top-10 finishes = 🔥).
- Avoid groupthink when possible and look for high-upside overlooked names.
- Field summary: 150 total golfers. Tier 1-5 each have 10 golfers, Tier 6 has 100 golfers.
- Use our U.S. Open field listed by world ranking and odds page as your main research tool to compare recent U.S. Open and PGA Tour form.
- Recent events considered: Memorial, Charles Schwab, CJ Cup Byron Nelson, PGA Championship, Myrtle Beach, Truist, Cadillac, Zurich, RBC Heritage, Masters, Valero, Houston.
Tier 1 Pick: Xander Schauffele
Scheffler and McIlroy will draw most ownership, but Schauffele is the balanced tournament play.
His U.S. Open track record is very steady (T12, T7, T10, T14, T7 from 2025-2021),
and he still carries win equity at 18/1.
All Tier 1 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler 🔥 | 1 | 4/1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 2 | 8/1 |
| Jon Rahm | 8 | 12/1 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 30 | 16/1 |
| Cameron Young | 3 | 18/1 |
| Xander Schauffele | 12 | 18/1 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | 4 | 20/1 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 7 | 20/1 |
| Ludvig Aberg 🔥 | 14 | 20/1 |
| Collin Morikawa | 10 | 28/1 |
Tier 2 Pick: Brooks Koepka
Koepka remains a major specialist, and his OWGR is misleading due to LIV scheduling.
In this tier he brings elite upside plus credible recent form (T55 at PGA Championship, T11 at Myrtle Beach).
His major profile still carries win-level upside in this tier.
All Tier 2 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Brooks Koepka | 109 | 28/1 |
| Justin Rose | 6 | 35/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 16 | 35/1 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | 21 | 35/1 |
| Russell Henley | 5 | 40/1 |
| Chris Gotterup | 11 | 40/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 25 | 40/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 26 | 40/1 |
| Viktor Hovland | 33 | 40/1 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 34 | 45/1 |
Tier 3 Pick: Wyndham Clark
Clark is volatile, but the upside is exactly what we want in a tiered pool.
He has top recent spikes (3rd at Memorial, 1st at CJ Cup) and a U.S. Open win in his profile (2023).
That combination gives ceiling plus meaningful event-specific pedigree.
All Tier 3 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Griffin | 15 | 50/1 |
| Robert MacIntyre | 17 | 50/1 |
| Jordan Spieth | 51 | 50/1 |
| Sam Burns | 29 | 55/1 |
| Shane Lowry | 43 | 55/1 |
| Joaquin Niemann | 79 | 55/1 |
| J.J. Spaun | 9 | 60/1 |
| Si Woo Kim | 18 | 60/1 |
| Wyndham Clark | 37 | 60/1 |
| Maverick McNealy | 35 | 70/1 |
Tier 4 Pick: Aaron Rai
Rai checks every box: strong recent form (win at PGA Championship, 5th at Myrtle Beach, T19 Memorial),
fair ownership compared with trendier names, and manageable risk for this tier.
All Tier 4 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Kristoffer Reitan | 24 | 75/1 |
| Aaron Rai | 13 | 80/1 |
| Harris English | 22 | 80/1 |
| Akshay Bhatia | 28 | 80/1 |
| Alex Smalley | 40 | 80/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 44 | 80/1 |
| Corey Conners | 54 | 80/1 |
| Sungjae Im | 72 | 80/1 |
| Sepp Straka | 19 | 90/1 |
| Kurt Kitayama | 31 | 90/1 |
Tier 5 Pick: Adam Scott
Scott is one of the safest cut-makers in Tier 5 and still has enough upside.
He enters with recent signal (T12 Memorial, T4 Cadillac) and a useful U.S. Open track record.
In a volatile tier, this is a strong floor-plus-ceiling profile.
All Tier 5 Pick Options & Data
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Min Woo Lee | 36 | 90/1 |
| Jacob Bridgeman | 27 | 100/1 |
| Keegan Bradley | 38 | 100/1 |
| Jake Knapp | 42 | 100/1 |
| Jason Day | 45 | 100/1 |
| Daniel Berger | 46 | 100/1 |
| Adam Scott | 50 | 100/1 |
| David Puig | 56 | 100/1 |
| Marco Penge | 47 | 110/1 |
| Ryan Gerard | 23 | 120/1 |
Tier 6 Pick: Rickie Fowler 🔥
Tier 6 is where you win or lose these pools. Fowler is one of the clearest hot-hand options:
T2 at Truist, T9 at Cadillac, T8 at RBC Heritage (three straight top-10s).
He also has enough major experience to avoid being purely a boom-or-bust dart throw.
Tier 6 Key Pick Options & Data
Tier 6 contains 100 golfers. Table below highlights key options and values from the board. Highlighted row = our pick.
| Golfer | OWGR | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Nicolai Hojgaard | 32 | 120/1 |
| Rickie Fowler 🔥 | 41 | 120/1 |
| Cameron Smith | 132 | 120/1 |
| Ryan Fox | 60 | 125/1 |
| Alex Fitzpatrick | 73 | 125/1 |
| Sahith Theegala | 83 | 130/1 |
| Carlos Ortiz | 185 | 140/1 |
| Alexander Noren | 20 | 150/1 |
| J.T. Poston | 39 | 150/1 |
| Michael Kim | 48 | 150/1 |
| Brian Harman | 59 | 150/1 |
| Keith Mitchell | 100 | 150/1 |
| Tom Kim | 152 | 150/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 999 | 150/1 |
| Pierceson Coody | 57 | 160/1 |
| Lucas Herbert | 89 | 160/1 |
| Davis Thompson | 134 | 170/1 |
| Andrew Novak | 58 | 180/1 |
| Sam Stevens | 53 | 200/1 |
| Ryo Hisatsune | 61 | 200/1 |
| Harry Hall | 66 | 200/1 |
| Max Greyserman | 67 | 200/1 |
| Billy Horschel | 146 | 200/1 |
| Michael Brennan | 55 | 225/1 |
| Andrew Putnam | 84 | 225/1 |
| Nick Taylor | 62 | 250/1 |
| Patrick Rodgers | 81 | 300/1 |
| Chris Kirk | 104 | 300/1 |
| Nicolas Echavarria | 49 | 400/1 |
| Matthew McCarty | 52 | 400/1 |
Do Your Research With U.S. Open Picks Research Tools
Don't just copy my picks, do your research! Start with this page to evaluate recent U.S. Open and PGA Tour form:
Start Your Golf Pool Now!
Have Fun & Happy Pooling!
Good luck with your 2026 U.S. Open pool! Reach out with any questions or other pool ideas via our contact page.
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